China’s New Ethnic Unity Law Codifies Transnational Repression

Legal implications of the extraterritoriality clause.

Chinese paramilitary policemen stand guard in a street surrounding the Great Hall of the People where the opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference takes place, in Beijing on March 4, 2026. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

China’s National People’s Congress recently passed a new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which will have a major effect on minorities and overseas Chinese. The law codifies Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s ethnic policy and is not what its title implies, despite a gaslighting headline from a China Daily article on April 21: “Xinjiang will only prosper further under new law.”